The Elkhart Police Merit Commission on Thursday reviewed proposed revisions to the Elkhart Police Department's promotion rules and voted to table a request to advertise and schedule a public hearing until Jan. 12, 2026.

Chief Dan Melanes, identified in the meeting as chief of the Elkhart Police Department, said the department has been working to “redo our promotion policy” to better align statutory requirements and leadership expectations. He told commissioners the drafts aim to “keep ourselves in line with the merit statute” and to clarify the connection between leadership and community service.

Commission discussion focused on the history and authorship of the drafts. The chair said there are two versions—one with input from department staff, city legal and the mayor’s office, and another developed by the commission—and proposed the chief and commission staff meet to reconcile language before a public hearing. The chair also offered to distribute a working draft immediately; he told members, “I can get that out to you this morning.”

The clerk explained the legal notice requirement for hearings: notices must be published and posted for 10 days before the hearing. The clerk said material intended for publication would need to be delivered by Dec. 30 to meet a Jan. 12 publication schedule, and suggested Jan. 26 as an alternate if commissioners need additional time. As the clerk put it, “So as long as we post them for 10 days, we have to publish and and also post them for 10 days.”

After discussion about timing and the need to finalize language, a motion to table the request to publish and schedule the hearing until the commission’s Jan. 12 meeting was moved, seconded and approved by roll call (commissioners recorded affirmative votes), deferring formal scheduling and public advertisement.

The commission did not adopt the new promotion rules at the meeting; members instructed staff and the chief to prepare a consolidated draft for review at the January meeting so that the required public notice can be posted once the language is finalized.